Charlotte Hornets’ big man notably absent from list of centers
There is no doubt that certain individuals can be overlooked in the grand scheme of the NBA landscape. But there is a difference between being overlooked and disrespected by not even being mentioned. The latter is the case for Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams.
A list compiling the league’s starting centers and ranking them by tier was recently published, and one would expect Williams to make an appearance at some point on the list. Unfortunately, Williams was not even mentioned on a list of what is supposed to include every team’s starting center.
One would think that the second-year big would at least have his name in either Tier 6, a group of young starting centers, or Tier 5, centers that are considered serviceable. But to be left out entirely? It simply shows just how Williams, and the Hornets, are viewed when it comes to relevancy in the NBA at the current moment in time.
Now, this is not to say that Williams should be ranked high on this list (he shouldn’t), but appearing somewhere in the bottom half is not too much to ask, is it? It would be one thing if there was a different entry from Charlotte on this list (spoiler alert, there isn’t), but not even including one center from the Hornets is one heck of an oversight.
Williams came on late in the year after Charlotte dealt veteran Mason Plumlee to the LA Clippers. This created a void in the starting lineup during a lost season that allowed him to show some baseline of potential. Averaging 11.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 17 starts, Williams displayed a level of competence that at least deserves a chance to stake his claim to be Charlotte’s center moving forward. A designation that should require making an appearance on a future list rather than being omitted yet again.
